QUESTION

Your Brief

Deakin University is seeking student feedback on a number of key services offered to current students. Alison Burns of Deakin University has commissioned you to research and write a brief report that evaluates the current state and future direction of one of the following Deakin University services:

Social Media at Deakin  – www.deakin.edu.au/socialmedia/index.php

• Travel Smart Program – www.deakin.edu.au/travelsmart/
• Study Skills Program – www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/study-support/study-skills/
• Careers and Employment

– http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/services/careers/index.php

SOLUTION

Introduction:

Deakin University was established in 1974 (Deakin University) with an aim to provide higher education for people in and around Victoria. The University started by providing distance education and has pioneered in doing so. Since then, it has been expanding itself by extending its presence through providing different courses as well as services to the students. The university offers different services catering to its staff, students and graduates, which provide additional facilities or information related to different issues like, accommodation, payment of bills, food services etc.

This report aims to study the current scenario and the future direction of the one of the services that Deakin University offers as an educational institution. The scope of the report is limited to the careers and employment services that are availed by its staff, students and graduates. The purpose of this report is to highlight the key features of the above mentioned service and to recommend necessary actions focusing on its strengths and weaknesses in order to bring further improvement in the services. This report would be useful for the University as a feedback of the current services as well as an indication of potential requirements in the area so as to provide better services.

Evaluation of Career & Employment Services:

The University provides information and resources related to employment opportunities as well as developing skills to help individuals progress in their careers. It divides the information (Deakin University) in three categories:

• Information about: This section lists all the necessary information one needs regarding how to find jobs, resumes, career planning, dealing with interviews and other issues related to jobs and careers (Deakin University). The University has different sections for each of the above mentioned queries and gives an overall understanding of what does one need to do in order to get a good job or write a perfect resume. One of the important advantages for a student availing this service is that it has an extensive list of the required fields one might want to look upon while searching for a job or a good career or even advice on achieving success in their jobs. Wherever necessary, this section provides links to useful sites and also documents related to some specific issues (Templates of Resumes, etc.).
• Information for: This section is completely dedicated to the off-campus students who undergo distance education programmes and are unable to avail facilities that the on-campus students do. This section helps as a guide to the queries or issues related to career building and employment for the off-campus students (Deakin University). One of the important facilities that the University provides in this section is the availability of a career counsellor whom the students can contact for assistance regarding their career. This is one of the remarkable features which ensure that the students don’t feel left out and reflects that the University provides equal opportunities for all students.
• Key Resources: The above two sections have specific information related to the career and employment which can be accessed by anyone who has access to internet, whereas this section provides additional resources which are available only for the  students of the university who has the required authentication. These resources are like personalized services that are being provided to individual students depending upon their requirements, for example, Interview Gold is an interactive tool for individual students which help them to prepare for specific roles (Deakin University).

All these services are aimed at providing assistance to the students in various ways in order to develop their career and create employment opportunities.

Improvement:

• Involving passed out graduates in career development of current students: The University currently conducts career fairs where students are able to exchange contact numbers and deposit resumes with the organizations attending the fair. However, involving passed out students in helping the current students build their career would promote interaction between them. Currently the university also provides career related services (Deakin University) to graduates but a common platform would help the students also in creating a good network base.
• Full time courses: The University provides short term courses for students to develop their leadership and other skills that are required in their jobs. A new full time course for such requirements would help the students in building up a good personality which is one of the essential requirements for working professionals.

Conclusion:

Every organization has to innovate and provide new products and services to its customers so as to stay ahead in the competition. Similarly, Universities and other educational institutions need to place themselves uniquely in the market in order to attract more students as well as recruiters. Deakin University has always been a leader in terms of distance education and with the plenty of services it provides further makes it the first choice for many students. Implementation of suggestions mentioned in the previous section would be beneficiary to all the stakeholders involved- the students, the recruiters, the University etc., especially involving passed out graduates in the career development programme for the current students. This suggestion has been made focusing the core commitments of the University which promotes “Continuing Education and Life-Long Learning” (Deakin University).

Recommendations:

• A common platform like discussion forums should be set up in order enable communication between the students and the graduates. Unlike career fairs these forms will concentrate on the experience of the graduates as well as interaction related to the specific queries raised by students.
• The University should promote involvement of the graduates in teaching short term career development courses which it already provides, such that it encourages students to participate in the course and eventually help them in the long term
• In order to implement the full time course on career development and leadership, the University should design the course in such a way that it involves both the practical as well as theoretical aspects of the subject. For example, types of leadership styles could be taught and relevant assignments could be given to individual students to identify their own leadership style which would help the students in understanding the type of leadership skills they possess.

References:

Deakin University, Careers and Employment. [online] Available at:  <http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/services/careers/index.php> [Accessed on 6 May 2012]

Deakin University, Career development services for Alumni. [online] Available at: <http://www.deakin.edu.au/alumni/services/careers.php> [Accessed on 6 May 2012]

Deakin University, Interview Gold. [online] Available at:  <http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/services/careers/interview/interview-gold.php> [Accessed on 6 May 2012]

Deakin University, Mission, Core Commitments, Values. [online] Available at:  <http://www.deakin.edu.au/about/mission.php> [Accessed on 6 May 2012]

Deakin University, Quick facts and figures about Deakin, [online] Available at: <http://www.deakin.edu.au/about/facts.php> [Accessed on 6 May 2012]

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